>> steve castile. [applause] >> i started working for the public works department 15 years ago. we are like a family. it is a very close-knit group. i think, because of that, we get the best out of people. one of the problems we encountered in the city was we were not able to pay our vendors and contractors. people were entering data inconsistently. documents were always getting lost. payments were not going out. the numbers do not add up. everything has to flow horizontal and vertical leap. we created several modules to make it easier for contractors to attach the documents in a standardized format. we do not have to go deeper anymore. i don't have a formal education in i.t., however, i have deployed some systems when i was working for the industry, and i brought in young, energetic staff to help. we implemented this. it took three months. people knew when they were going to get paid. i think we have a happy contractor community. >> these system improvements have really it increased service to our clients and reduced costs and really improved the bidding environment for our con